Stewart "Staz" Johnson is an
English comic book artist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
and
penciller
A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...
, best known for his work on
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
' ''
Robin
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
'' and ''
Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...
'' series.
Biography
Johnson got his start working on magazines which covered the then-burgeoning fantasy
role playing games industry. From there he got work at
Marvel UK where he worked on weekly comic book series such as ''
Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms ...
'' and ''
Action Force''. During this period Johnson's first work was published in the US in
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
''
G.I. Joe European Missions'' in 1989; however this was not original work - the series reprinted his Marvel UK ''Action Force'' material.
In 1992 he did his first work for
Fleetway Edition's ''
2000 AD'', a ''
Tharg's
Future Shocks
''Tharg's Future Shocks'' is a long-running series of short strips in the British weekly comic '' 2000 AD'' in 1977. The name originates from the fictional editor of 2000 AD and the book titled '' Future Shock'', written by Alvin Toffler, pub ...
'' feature. His most recent work on the title was part of a
Rogue Trooper serial in 2003.
His work on Marvel UK's ''
Death Wreck
Dagger
Dagoth
Dagoth is a demon who has clashed with Doctor Strange.
Daken
Dakimh the Enchanter
Damballah
Daniel Whitehall
Daniel Whitehall is a British intelligence agent also known as the Kraken.
An elite assassin and member of the t ...
'' series in 1994 led to him getting work from Marvel US on titles such as ''
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing ...
'' (1994), ''
Force Works'' (1995) and ''
Spider-Man: Funeral for an Octopus'' (1995).
He then began a long period where he worked exclusively for Marvel's competitor DC Comics, initially on a six-issue storyline in ''
Detective Comics
''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman ...
'' #689-694 (September 1995- February 1996) which led to stints as regular penciller of ''
Robin
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
'' (1996–1999) and ''
Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...
'' (2000–2001). His most recent work for DC was the inter-company crossover ''
Batman/Aliens
''Batman/Aliens'' is a crossover between the Batman and Aliens comic book franchises. It was published in 1997. A sequel was released in 2003.
''Batman/Aliens''
Batman parachutes into the jungle near the Guatemala and Mexico borderline, inve ...
II''
limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
* Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...
in 2003.
In 2003 he returned to Marvel, and it is at that publisher that most of his work has since been published. At Marvel he has worked on ''
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...
'', ''
New X-Men'', ''
Underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld ...
'', ''
Cable & Deadpool'', ''
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
: War Crimes'' and it was also through Marvel he got his work on the ''
Heroes''
webcomics
Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books.
Webcomics can be ...
.
Johnson was also the superhero expert on the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
television show ''
Zero to Hero''.
He is currently working on a 150-page
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...
comic and has produced ''The New World Order'', a comic book series based on a line of
Agent Provocateur
An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, th ...
lingerie.
Johnson lives in
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...
, where he was brought up.
Superheroes 'made in Yorkshire'
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, May 10, 2009
Bibliography
Comics work includes:
* "Starting Over" (in '' The Transformers'' #261, Marvel UK, 1990)
* '' Tharg's Future Shocks'':
** "A Hitch In Time" (with John Tomlinson, in '' 2000 AD'' #796, 1992)
** "Old Red" (with Simon Spurrier
Simon "Si" Spurrier (born 2 May 1981) is a British comics writer and novelist, who has previously worked as a cook, a bookseller, and an art director for the BBC.
Getting his start in comics with the British small press, he went on to write hi ...
, in ''2000 AD'' #1232, 2001)
** "Adventures in the War Trade" (with Alec Worley, in ''2000 AD'' #1574, 2008)
* ''Death Wreck
Dagger
Dagoth
Dagoth is a demon who has clashed with Doctor Strange.
Daken
Dakimh the Enchanter
Damballah
Daniel Whitehall
Daniel Whitehall is a British intelligence agent also known as the Kraken.
An elite assassin and member of the t ...
'' (with Craig Houston, Marvel UK, 1994)
* ''Detective Comics
''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman ...
'' #689-694 (DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
, September 1995 - February 1996)
* ''Robin
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
'' (DC Comics, 1996–1999)
* ''Catwoman
Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...
'' (DC Comics, 2000–2001)
*'' Killer'' (pencils, with Steve Moore and inks by David Roach, in ''2000 AD'' #1264-1272, 2001)
* ''Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of '' 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running c ...
'' (with John Wagner):
** "The Sons of Katie Didd" (in ''2000 AD'' #1248-1249, 2001)
** "Dead Funny" (in ''2000 AD'' #1320, 2002)
** "Hot Night in 95" (in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #307-308 and 310, 2011)
* '' Rogue Trooper'' (with Gordon Rennie
Gordon Rennie is a Scottish comics writer, responsible for ''White Trash: Moronic Inferno'', as well as several comic strips for '' 2000 AD'' and novels for ''Warhammer Fantasy''.
In May 2008, he announced he was leaving comics to concentrate ...
and Gerry Finley-Day):
** "What Lies Beneath" (pencils, with inks by David Roach, in ''2000 AD'' #1301-1304, 2002)
** "Lions" (in ''2000 AD'' #1308, 2002)
** "Dead Funny" (in ''2000 AD'' #1345-1347, 2003)
** "Dead Ringer" (in ''2000 AD'' #2011, 2010)
* ''Batman/Aliens
''Batman/Aliens'' is a crossover between the Batman and Aliens comic book franchises. It was published in 1997. A sequel was released in 2003.
''Batman/Aliens''
Batman parachutes into the jungle near the Guatemala and Mexico borderline, inve ...
2'' (with Ian Edginton, DC Comics, 2003 )
* ''Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...
'' (Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...
, 2003)
* '' Spider-Man''/''Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in '' ...
: Negative Exposure #1'' (Marvel Comics, 2003)
* ''Spider-Man 2
''Spider-Man 2'' is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Michael Chabon. Based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, it is t ...
: The Movie'' (Marvel Comics, 2004)
* '' New X-Men'' (Marvel Comics, 2004)
* ''Underworld
The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld ...
'' (2006)
* '' Cable & Deadpool'' (Marvel Comics, 2006)
* ''Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
: War Crimes'' (Marvel Comics, 2007)
* ''The New World Order'' (with writer Brady Webb, 2009)
Notes
References
*
*
Staz Johnson
at Barney
at Lambiek
Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...
's Comiclopedia
External links
*
Staz Johnson's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Staz
Living people
1965 births
English comics artists